Flight of the Red Tail
Encyclopedia
Flight of the Red Tail is a 2009 historical documentary film
by Adam White about the Red Tail Project
's successful return to flight of a World War II
P-51 Mustang
that had become inoperable during a 2004 crash after having been restored
for exhibition flying once before in 2001. The Red Tail Project is a part of the Commemorative Air Force
. The plane had been originally flown by the United States Air Force
332d Fighter Group as a bomber escort for the Allied Forces
in the European Theatre of World War II
and serves as a traveling and flying tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen
. The film is a sequel to Red Tail Reborn
which brought attention to the attempt to relaunch of the plane after the 2004 crash.
format on November 27, 2009. The film, which was produced in NTSC Dolby 5.1 format, had a running time of 12 minutes. It is contained on a single disc. This film chronicles the reconstruction by picking up where Red Tail Reborn left off in 2007. It is described as a companion piece to its predecessor, but White says it is only part of a continuing story.
The five-year restoration occurred at Tri-State Aviation in from 2004 to 2009. In 2007 Gerry Beck, one of the primary restorers was in an aviation collision of a P-51A and a P-51D during AirVenture 2007. Nonetheless, the rebuilding continued with the mounting of the engine in 2008 and the mating of the wing in 2009. On July 22, 2009, four days before AirVenture 2009 in the plane had its first flight. Then, it was flown to Wisconsin for its public debut. After the show it returned to Minnesota with a 6 AT-6
escort.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
by Adam White about the Red Tail Project
Red Tail Project
The Red Tail Squadron, part of the non-profit Commemorative Air Force and until June 2011 known as the Red Tail Project, maintains and flies a World War II era P-51C Mustang...
's successful return to flight of a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
that had become inoperable during a 2004 crash after having been restored
Vehicle restoration
Vehicle restoration is the process of restoring a vehicle that is either partially scrapped or otherwise life expired back to its original working condition. Automotive restoration can be applied to many different eras of automobile. Heritage railways and railway museums aim to restore and operate...
for exhibition flying once before in 2001. The Red Tail Project is a part of the Commemorative Air Force
Commemorative Air Force
The Commemorative Air Force , formerly known as the Confederate Air Force, is a Texas-based non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and showing historical aircraft at airshows primarily throughout the U.S. and Canada...
. The plane had been originally flown by the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
332d Fighter Group as a bomber escort for the Allied Forces
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
in the European Theatre of World War II
European Theatre of World War II
The European Theatre of World War II was a huge area of heavy fighting across Europe from Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 until the end of the war with the German unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945...
and serves as a traveling and flying tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen
Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought in World War II. Formally, they were the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps....
. The film is a sequel to Red Tail Reborn
Red Tail Reborn
Red Tail Reborn is a 2007 historical documentary film by Adam White about the Commemorative Air Force's Red Tail Project. The project involves the restoration, exhibition and maintenance of a World War II P-51 Mustang flown by the United States Air Force 332d Fighter Group. The exhibition of this...
which brought attention to the attempt to relaunch of the plane after the 2004 crash.
Details
The film was released in DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
format on November 27, 2009. The film, which was produced in NTSC Dolby 5.1 format, had a running time of 12 minutes. It is contained on a single disc. This film chronicles the reconstruction by picking up where Red Tail Reborn left off in 2007. It is described as a companion piece to its predecessor, but White says it is only part of a continuing story.
The five-year restoration occurred at Tri-State Aviation in from 2004 to 2009. In 2007 Gerry Beck, one of the primary restorers was in an aviation collision of a P-51A and a P-51D during AirVenture 2007. Nonetheless, the rebuilding continued with the mounting of the engine in 2008 and the mating of the wing in 2009. On July 22, 2009, four days before AirVenture 2009 in the plane had its first flight. Then, it was flown to Wisconsin for its public debut. After the show it returned to Minnesota with a 6 AT-6
T-6 Texan
The North American Aviation T-6 Texan was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1950s...
escort.